Published: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 at 10:04 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 at 10:04 a.m.

Friends of the North Sarasota Public Library welcomed a capacity crowd to Michael's on East earlier this month to celebrate the opening of the library's Cultural Resource Center.

The center houses a special collection of 1,200 items, including books, periodicals, videos, artifacts, paintings and art. Ethiopian materials and artifacts are among items available for viewing.

Dr. Khalil Muhammad, director of the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York, was the keynote speaker at the March 9 event.

— Submitted by Myron Browning

All Faiths needs volunteers to help with hunger study

All Faiths Food Bank needs 25 volunteers to help it participate in the national Hunger in America 2014 study, which is an in-depth look at the needy in the community in an effort to find ways to better serve them.

For one part of the study, All Faiths Food Bank is looking to recruit volunteers to help administer a survey.

"We need volunteers to assist with client interviews," Sandra Frank, executive director of All Faiths Food Bank, said in a prepared statement. "It's critically important that we understand our clients' needs and concerns. The information will help All Faiths and its 190 partners to be more effective in our collective response to hunger."

All Faiths Food Bank and Gulf Coast Community Foundation have partnered to conduct a comprehensive three-part study of hunger in the region, and the Hunger in America 2014 study is one component.

When completed, it will be the largest study of charitable food assistance in Sarasota, providing comprehensive and statistically valid data about the charitable food distribution system and the people being served by the All Faiths Food Bank network.

For more information about becoming a volunteer, call 379-6333 or email ndouble@allfaithsfoodbank.org.

All Faiths Food Bank serves Sarasota and DeSoto counties. In 2012, All Faiths distributed 5 million meals. One out of every six residents in Sarasota County receives food from one of 180 programs.